Animation Celebration Saturday - Frosty's Winter Wonderland

Rankin-Bass/ABC, 1976

Voices of Jackie Vernon, Shelley Winters, Andy Griffith, and Dennis Day

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music and Lyrics by various

For the next three Saturdays, we'll be looking at vintage winter and Valentine's Day specials from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, starting with this lesser-known sequel from Rankin-Bass. The original Frosty the Snowman was one of their bigger hits in the late 60's, so it was likely inevitable that they would want to follow that up. They got the folksy Griffith to replace original narrator Jimmy Durante, who had a stroke a few years before and had retired, and concocted a story that gave Frosty a wife and a slightly more likely villain than an annoying and rather silly magician. How does all of this look today? Let's begin with Griffith and the kids as they try to build a snowman who'll come to life like Frosty and find out...

The Story: Frosty (Vernon) is glad to be back with the kids, but he's lonely when they're not playing with him. Since he can't go inside with them, they make him a wife to be his friend and partner. Trouble is, they can't figure out what will make her "all livin'" at first. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (Paul Frees) is jealous that the kids associate Frosty with winter more than they do him. He tries to blow Frosty's magic hat away, but gets a substitute. Frosty is the one who finally figures out what will bring Crystal (Winters) to life...and she saves him in turn after Frost returns and does get his hat. Frosty and Crystal want to be married, but they end up needing a snow priest (Day) to do the job. 

The Animation: As a later Rankin-Bass special, this absolutely shows the hand of Paul Coker Jr. It's much more rounded and anime-like than the original special (as per its Japanese origins), and definitely looks like it was designed by the man who would later do artwork for MAD Magazine. 

The Song and Dance: Vernon and Winters make an adorable couple in one of the better Rankin-Bass specials of the 70's. This is one of the few times the weirdness that marks their later efforts really works. Winters' crusty demeanor compliments Vernon's innocent cheerfulness well, and Frees makes a perfect impish Jack. I also like that this may be the only Rankin-Bass special that doesn't needlessly attempt to tie a holiday in. It doesn't mention Christmas, Valentine's Day, or even Groundhog's Day. It's just about the wonders of winter, making it perfect to watch during the colder months when other Rankin-Bass specials are sitting on the shelf. 

The Numbers: Griffith performs "Frosty the Snowman" in the opening as the kids build their new wintry friend and wish for Frosty's return. They sing it again when they're out skating and sledding with Frosty and realize that Frosty really isn't very good at counting. Day and Griffith share "Winter Wonderland" later on, during Frosty and Crystal's wedding. It really is very sweet, with the animals carrying Crystal's train and the snowman that no one has to pretend is Parson Brown.

What I Don't Like: Er, what is this a sequel to again? There's no mention of Karen, the little girl from the first special, though they do continue the running gag with the kid wrapped in that huge scarf and his weird snow people names and the cop who swallows his whistle at the sight of the snow people. While this does make more sense than such late 70's and 80's Rankin-Bass specials as The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold or Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas In July, it's still a little strange. The kids make Frosty a wife, and Jack Frost is jealous because they aren't paying attention? Sometimes I wonder what the writers at Rankin-Bass were on in the 70's and early 80's. 

The Big Finale: One of the better Rankin-Bass specials from the mid-late 70's deserves a look during the winter months for its unique story and charming performances.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming.

DVD

DVD - Frosty the Snowman/Frosty's Winter Wonderland

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - Willy McBean and His Magic Machine

Magna Pictures Distribution Corporation, 1965

Voices of Billie Mae Richards, Larry Mann, Alfie Scopp, and Paul Kligman

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Kizo Nagashima

Music and Lyrics by Edward Thomas, Gene Forrell, and James Polack

We kick off November with Rankin-Bass' first foray on the big screen. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had just been a sensation about six months before they released this. Unfortunately, Rankin-Bass doesn't seem to have ever had the same luck in the theaters that they did on TV. All of their theatrical films were eventually relegated to children's matinees and after-school showings on local stations, but does that mean they're without merit? To find out, we begin not with the title character, but with the evil Professor Von Rotten (Mann), who is gloating about his inventions to the talking monkey Pablo (Scopp).

The Story: Professor Von Rotten has invented a magic time machine that'll allow him to change history and become the first to do something great. Pablo breaks loose and runs off to find help. He ends up at the home of Willy McBean (Richards), a young boy who loves tinkering with his own inventions and finds studying history to be boring. He gets an eye-opener when Pablo tells him about the Professor's plan. Willy is able to create his own "magic machine," allowing him and Pablo to go back in time and stop the Professor and discover that history is a lot more exciting than it looks in school books.

The Animation: Actually a bit disappointing for Rankin-Bass. You can tell this one of their earlier efforts. The characters aren't as expressive as they are even in Rudolph. They move jerkily, and sometimes limbs or pieces will be missing or in the wrong place. That said, everything is fairly detailed, especially the backgrounds in the Wild West and Camelot.

The Song and Dance: Decent first movie effort from Rankin-Bass is anchored by some really fun performances. Mann in particular has a blast as the overly dramatic Professor, who is less evil than determined to be the first at something, anything, and leave a lasting legacy to history. Richards has some funny moments as skeptical Willie, while Kligman and Claude Rae throw themselves into their many characters with relish. And yes, that is a young James Doohan, just a year prior to Star Trek: The Original Series, as the voices of General Custer and Merlin. 

The Numbers: The chorus begins and ends the movie by describing "The Magic Machine" and what it can do. "Professor Rasputin Von Rotten" introduces himself and his desire to be remembered through history for something major shortly after the opening credits. Sitting Bull (Kligman) and Pablo admit "We Got Showbiz." Christopher Columbus (Kligman) and the sailors claim "Gotta Go West to Go East." The Professor tells Queen Isabella "I Am For Hire." Arthur (Claude Rae) and his men introduce themselves as "We're Knights of the Round Table (Not the Square)." The dragon (Scopp) they're supposed to fight claims "I'm the Most Exciting, Horrible Dragon In All of Camelot"...but he's really far from it. King Tut (Bunny Cowan) listens to his chorus girl queen (Corinne Conley) complain about being the "Poorest Queen" in all of Egypt. "A Caveman's Lot" is a difficult one for the neanderthals Willy and Pablo encounter.

What I Don't Like: First of all, this hasn't dated well at all, and not just the jerky animation. Name your stereotype, from Italian to Native American to Chinese, and it's probably here. Not to mention, I think this is intended to be a spoof of history. People knew the world was round years before Christopher Columbus, his men mutinied because he was a lousy sailor and a bad captain despite his ambitions, and though the Arthur legends may have their basis in fact, they're really more myths than history. 

Second, the whole idea is just too bizarre for words. Couldn't the Professor have found a far more evil reason for wanting to go back in time than just being first at something? Like most Rankin-Bass villains, he's rather easily reformed in the end, too. Pablo and his silly Mexican accent get really annoying really fast, too. 

The Big Finale: Bizarre bit of lunacy is mainly for Rankin-Bass completists and those trying to amuse their elementary-school age children for an hour and a half online.

Home Media: Which makes it just as well that, to my knowledge, this has never been released on disc in North America. The only way you can currently find it is on YouTube. 

YouTube

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Return of the King (1980)

ABC/Rankin-Bass, 1980

Voices of Orson Bean, John Huston, Theodore Bikel, and Roddy McDowell

Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

After the success of The Hobbit, Rankin-Bass set about making a sequel. Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings debuted in 1978 as Rankin-Bass prepared storyboards for their film and proved that there was ample interest in the material. How well did they do adapting the final Lord of the Ring novel to animation? Let's begin as Frodo (Bean) explains to his uncle Bilbo (Bean) what happened with him getting rid of the Ring of Power that led to him losing his finger and find out...

The Story: Frodo and his friend Samwise Gamgee (McDowell) are charged with traveling to Mordor to destroy the Ring of Power that Bilbo once stole from little green frog-like monster Gollum (Brother Theodore). Sam first must rescue Frodo from the Orcs at Cirith Ungol. Sam's briefly tempted by the Ring, but he does manage to get Frodo away. They disguise themselves in Orc armor to infiltrate their army and get past to Mount Doom. They're first attacked by Gollum, who badly wants his "precious" back, and then Frodo seems to go crazy with the strain of being the Ring Bearer.

Meanwhile, their friend Pippin (Sonny Melendrez) warns Gandalf (Huston) about the impending invasion of the Orc army. Pippin tries to warn King of Rohan Denethor (William Conrad), but he's already gone mad. The Witch-King of Agmar (John Stephenson) and his forces seem to have the upper hand in battle after he slays King Theoden (Don Messik). What he never expected is for his boast that no man can kill him to be challenged by Eowyn (Nellie Bellflower), who is "no man," and then for the king of Middle Earth, Aragorn (Theodore Bikel), to return at last.

The Animation: Decent for them, especially at Mordor as Gollum, Sam, and Frodo fight for the ring and in some of the battle scenes. The end, with the White Ship riding off into the horizon, and the arrival of Aragon also manage to drum up the appropriate majesty. The bleak, earthy color scheme reminds us that this is no Christmas special and definitely gives the sense of Middle Earth's dark worlds. 

The Song and Dance: Rankin-Bass really went all-out with this one. There's a few career-best performances from voice actors who are known for lighter material. Kasem does well with Merry's heartbreak at the loss of Theoden and how he ends up helping Eowyn, Conrad makes the most of his brief role as the mad king Denethor, and Bean and McDowell beautifully portray how the two young Hobbits get caught up in the ring's temptations. Messick shows why he played so many Hanna Barbara characters over the years by making The Voice of Sauron and Theoden two entirely different personalities with different voices. 

Favorite Number: We open with the Minstrel (Glenn Yarborough) explaining "The Ballad of Frodo" and what ultimately transpired that ended with the loss of Frodo's finger. The booming choral number "Wearer of the Ring" is heard three times, notably in the beginning where Sam is tempted by the ring's power, and in the end, when Frodo has seemingly succumbed to it. Sam finally breaks himself of the ring's hold by reminding himself that "Less Is More," and he prefers the simple life. The chorus briefly warn "Beware the Power," then admonish that "It's So Easy Not to Try" when they follow the Orc Army. 

The Orcs treat all their slaves, including Hobbitts, the same, as they remind them "Where There's a Whip, There's a Way." The hobbits wish they were at home and imagine what'll happen "'Till Yesterday." "Standing Underneath the Towers" and "Return of the King" are the big chorus numbers at the battle before and during Aragon's return. The title number shows  how he finally defeats the Orcs and reclaims his throne. The film ends with the haunting "You Will Never Say Goodbye" as the remaining three Hobbits watch the White Ship carrying Erond (Paul Frees), Gandalf, Bilbo, and Frodo over the horizon.

What I Don't Like: Yeah, this has a lot of the same problems as its predecessors The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. There's just too much story (and too much in the stories that isn't exactly family-friendly) to compress into an hour-and-a-half animated film. A ton was dropped to make this more accessible at the time, including most of the first half of the book. You don't really feel Sam and Frodo's friendship like you should, or care who kills the Witch-King or know who Aragon even is. Bikel barely appears in the last 20 minutes and doesn't have enough to do; Bellflower doesn't give Eowyn nearly the passion she needs. 

The Big Finale: Older elementary schoolers who are too young for the live-action movies but are still fans of fantasy may be intrigued by this earlier and slightly more kid-friendly visit to Middle Earth.

Home Media: Currently hard to find and pricey on DVD. Your best bet is to check used venues and look for uploads online.

DVD

Internet Archive

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Hobbit (1977)

NBC, 1977

Voices of Orson Bean, John Huston, Hans Conried, and Richard Boone

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass and J.R Tolkien

As we prepare for the release of another Lord of the Rings live-action film later this year (and I re-read the book The Hobbit), we take a look at the two Rankin-Bass animated musical versions of these much-loved fantasy novels. Rankin was a fan of the books and spent three million making this as close to the actual book as they could get away with in prime-time in the late 70's. It debuted as a Thanksgiving special on NBC that year and was popular enough for them to consider a sequel. How does the first full-length adaptation of a Lord of the Rings novel look today? Let's begin with Bilbo (Bean) in his hobbit hole about to receive thirteen very unexpected visitors and find out...

The Story: The last thing Bilbo expects is for twelve dwarfs and the wizard Gandalf (Huston) to turn up on his doorstep and invite him on an adventure. They're traveling to the Lonely Mountain to retrieve their treasure from the dragon Smaug (Boone) and want Bilbo to be their stealthy burglar. Bilbo would really rather stay home, but Gandalf persuades him. 

Bilbo wishes he'd stayed home when they encounter goblins who try to eat them, wolf-like monsters called Wargs who chase them up trees, and a strange little creature called Gollum who hides a certain ring. Bilbo uses the ring to escape and save the dwarfs from many dangers. He even manages to find the treasure and Smaug's weak spot. However, the dragon destroys the surrounding town, and the dwarfs won't share the treasure, inciting a war.

The Animation: That three million dollars shows in sketchy, earthy artwork that is far and above what Rankin-Bass/Topcraft was doing in their holiday specials at this point. It's not nearly as frightening or uncanny valley as the rotoscoping seen in Ralph Bakshki's Lord of the Rings, but it moves too stiffly to be Disney's best, and some of the special effects with the spiders and the dragon are a little cheap. Still, there's some nice work here, from Gollum's expressions to the bright red all around when Smaug decimates Laketown.

The Song and Dance: This was always by far my favorite of the three Lord of the Rings animated films. Folksy comedian Bean is a charming Bilbo, equally capable of fleeing war and goblins and outwitting Gollum. For some reason, we have two well-known directors doing voices here. John Huston is a wonderfully gravely and grave Gandalf, while Otto Preminger is the elf king. Conried does well as grouchy Thorin, head of the dwarfs, too. Also, kudos for most of the songs being fairly accurate adaptations of the ones in the book, word for word. 

Favorite Number: The only fully original song featured in the film is "The Greatest Adventure," heard in the opening and closing performed by folk singer Glenn Yarbrough. The dwarfs sing about "That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates" at their impromptu party in his hobbit hole during the opening. The chorus sings as they travel "Under the Lonely Mountain." Later, we hear them perform "The Barrel Song" and "The Mountain King's Return." Yarbrough gets "Roads," "The Roads Goes Ever On and On," "In the Valley Ha! Ha!," and "Old Fat Spider." "Down, Down to Goblin Town" and "Funny Little Things" are performed by a goblin chorus when they capture the dwarfs and Bilbo. 

Trivia: Animator Gene Deitch did an earlier Hobbit animated short in 1966, but it has very little in common with the original book or later feature-length films. 

What I Don't Like: Fans and scholars of Tolkien's work have long complained about everything they cut out to make this more family and TV-friendly, from Bilbo stealing a family treasure of Thorin's and handing it to the elves to Bilbo getting knocked out and missing the entire war instead of protesting it and hiding. Several characters are missing too, notably Beorn, who shelters the group early in the book and gives them directions to the mountain. 

The Big Finale: A great introduction to Tolkien's work and fantasy in general for families with elementary-school age kids who can handle some of the darker elements.

Home Media: The DVDs are rare and expensive online. You're better off streaming this one. 

DVD

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Emperor's New Clothes (1972)

Rankin-Bass/ABC, 1972

Voices of Danny Kaye, Cyril Ritchard, Imogene Coca, and Allen Swift

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

Though Rankin-Bass is most associated with holidays nowadays, they did release specials at other times of the year. This was intended to be the first in a series of hour shows featuring Kaye narrating and appearing in various fairy tales. The series never came to fruition, but they did get this pilot special out. Kaye was still associated with Hans Christian Andersen after his success in the 1952 film of that title, so Rankin-Bass opted to adapt one of his stories. Did it come out as well as their holiday shows, or should it be dumped on the Boulevard of Rogues? Let's begin with Kaye in live-action as he explains what we're about to see and find out...

The Story: Kaye takes the role of Marmaduke, a con artist who makes his way to the Empire of Bibbin when he hears about a tailoring contest. Emperor Klochenlocher (Ritchard), who is obsessed with clothes since the death of his wife, is holding a contest for a tailor to make him the best suit. Though the prize is one million gold pieces, the Emperor's daughter Princess Jane (Coca) claims there's no money in the treasury. The Emperor's jester Jasper (Bob McFadden) encourages his master's clothes addiction so he'll focus on clothes and spend himself bankrupt, allowing him to pay the emperor's tailors starvation wages and get rich himself. He tries throwing Marmaduke and his partner Mufti (Swift) into the Boulevard of Rogues, but they're able to escape.

The duo tell the Emperor and his prime ministers they can make a suit out of an amazing cloth that's invisible to those who are fools or unfit to rule. The Emperor doesn't want to look unfit, so he claims he can see it. Meanwhile, the two con men and Bucky, the orphan they've adopted (Gary Shapiro), hide the gold coins in a cannon, not realizing that Jasper's man Ivan intends to use it to shoot at the Boulevard of Rogues! Marmaduke's fallen for Jane, too, but Jasper intends to marry her and take the throne for good.

The Animation: By this point, Rankin-Bass were at their height of success with their stop-motion specials. The character designs are creative and fun, especially Jasper and Mufti, and they move fairly well. Some of the special effects are decent as well, especially when they shoot out the coins towards the end!

The Song and Dance: Kaye is clearly having a ball here playing against type as the roguish anti-hero who intends to take the Emperor for all he's worth, until he finds out what Jasper's up to. Ritchard has almost as much fun as the befuddled ruler who learns the hard way that clothes don't always make the man. Coca also has some good lines as the sensible princess who just wants her father to pay attention to her. The live-action opening sequences, with Kaye cavorting among real children in Denmark, are adorable and fairly well-done.

Favorite Number: We open with Kaye and the kids in Denmark as Kaye sings "Come Along With Me" to a world of fantasy. Our first number in the animated sequence is Marmaduke explaining to Mufti why "Clothes Make the Man." The Emperor reveals why he's such an easy mark for Jasper and the con men in "I See What I Want to See," a creative 2-D animation sequence that shows how he can ignore everything but his wardrobe. The other tailors who have come to Bibbin for the contest sing "The Tailor's Song" for Marmaduke. He tells the Emperor how the "Creation" of a new suit is a breeze for him and Mufti. Jane claims that "All You Need Is Money to Be Rich," and Marmaduke certainly thinks so!

What I Don't Like: The songs are cute, but they're not as memorable as some of the standards Laws and Bass wrote for their holiday extravaganzas. Oh, and there's a lot that's changed from the original Andersen story, probably to pad this out to an hour and make Kaye's character more sympathetic. The con artists were after money and their own gain, pure and simple, and they got away scot-free with everything. There was no princess or evil jester; the Emperor himself was the one who taxed people for his wardrobe. 

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Rankin-Bass or are really into Kaye, this very funny fairy tale is worth parading the streets for. 

Home Media: Alas, this one is very hard to find on DVD nowadays and expensive when it does appear. You're best looking for it used. 

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Wacky World of Mother Goose

Embassy Pictures/Videocraft (Rankin-Bass), 1967

Voices of Margaret Rutherford, Bradley Bolke, Bob McFadden, and Laura Leslie

Directed by Jules Bass and Kizo Nagashima

Music by George Wilikins; Lyrics by Jules Bass

First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be going on vacation hiatus from the 18th through the 25th. Reviews resume the 26th. 

Second, we return to the wild world of Rankin-Bass for their first 2-D animated film. Having done Hans Christian Andersen stories and world history for their first two movies, they turned their attention to Mother Goose. These little rhymes go as far back medieval England, but the versions that are most familiar nowadays are Charles Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose from the 17th century. How does the story of Mother Goose (Rutherford) and her triumph over the Crooked Man (Bolke) look nowadays? Let's begin as Mother Goose and the chorus explain about their topsy turvy world over the credits and find out...

The Story: Mother Goose is nervous when she travels over the moon to visit her sick sister (Bryna Raeburn). She has good cause to be. Count Walktwist the Crooked Man and his enchanted army swoop down and kidnap Old King Cole's daughter Princess Harmony (Leslie) and her sweetheart Prince Robin. He holds them for ransom and forces Cole to give up the kingdom to him. All of the adults are made servants, and the knights become evil slaves to him. Upset at the loss of their parents, Little Jack Horner (Kevin Gavin) and Mary Quite Contrary (Susan Melvin) try to find a way over the moon to tell Mother Goose what's going on and bring her home to save them. They're later joined by cheerful egg Humpty Dumpty (McFadden). 

The Animation:  Some of the earliest design work from Paul Coker, Jr, and his only theatrical 2-D work. The caricature of Rutherford is spot-on, but other characters look bland or have strange designs. The Crooked Man is all green angles, while Princess Harmony is wispy and white. Where this stands out in the color. The vibrant primaries and black and white used for Mother Goose's world really pop, even on the copy currently at YouTube. 

The Song and Dance: Some decent songs and performances liven up this one. Bolke in particular makes a deliciously over-the-top Crooked Man. Melvin is funny and spunky as tough little Mary, who is determined to show that girls can be just as good on adventures as boys. Rutherford has some funny moments when we do see her.

Favorite Number: We open with Rutherford and the chorus performing "Great Big Wacky World" as she flies over the sights and landmarks of her kingdom; the chorus reprises it over the end credits. "Good-Bye" is a sort-of song for Rutherford as she wonders why she's leaving her beloved people. She talks the lyrics, but there's a rather lovely sad melody under them. Harmony tells her father that "I Still Believe In Fairy Tales" and romance. 

Humpty Dumpty reassures Jack that "It's Never Too Late" to save his parents and the kingdom in a charmingly upbeat duet. Mary asks stubborn Jack why he won't give her "Half a Chance" to show what she can do. Harmony and Robin complain that "I Can Predict" what the other will do, even while in the dungeon. The Cat with the fiddle gets the purple cow dancing to jump over the moon in a lively instrumental number. 

Trivia: Margaret Rutherford's last film. 

What I Don't Like: For a musical called The Wacky World of Mother Goose, this is neither all that wacky, nor does it have much of Mother Goose. In fact, Rutherford's role is limited to the first ten and last ten minutes and a few minutes in between at her sister's house. The story is downright dark for Rankin-Bass. Soldiers are turned into evil crooked versions of themselves; parents are kidnapped for slaves. Goosey Goosey Gander is a giant gray nightmare of a bird. They even manage to make that giant candlestick Jack jumps over look terrifying enough to give kids nightmares. Most of the characters are either as bland as the kids or annoying as heck. 

The Big Finale: Recommended only for those who must see everything Rankin-Bass or are looking for background noise for elementary-schoolers. 

 

Home Media: The DVD is out of print and ridiculously expensive. If you must see this, it can currently be found for free on YouTube and the Internet Archive.

DVD

YouTube

Internet Archive

Musicals On TV - Return to Oz (1964)

Videocraft (Rankin-Bass)/NBC, 1964

Voices of Susan Conway, Larry D. Mann, Alfie Scopp, and Carl Banis

Directed by F.R Crawley, Thomas Glynn, and Larry Roemer

Music and Lyrics by Gene Forrell, Edward Thomas, and James Pollack

This started life as the second Videocraft TV show and the first in traditional animation, Tales of the Wizard of Oz. The series only ran for four months in 1961, but reruns proved to be strong enough for Videocraft to make a follow-up their first hour-long special. How does it look nowadays? Let's start with a little paper airplane as it soars through Kansas to a certainly little girl and find out...

The Story: That paper airplane delivers a message from Socrates the Scarecrow (Scopp) to Dorothy (Conway) inviting her back to Oz. She finds her silver slippers and is whisked away in another twister, this time while sitting in an apple tree. Glinda the Good Witch (Peggy Loder) explains to Dorothy that the letter was written by a revived Witch of the West (Mann) and all isn't as she claimed. She destroyed the Tin Man (Mann)'s heart, the Scarecrow's brains, and the Lion's (Banis) courage. The Wizard (Banas) once again sends them off to defeat the Witch and get their hearts' desires back...but he's not what he seems, either. The Witch has to get those silver shoes, or she'll lose her powers all together!

The Animation: If this doesn't look much like any other Rankin-Bass special, it was actually done by F.R Crawley's own studio and merely released by Videocraft. Very sketchy and limited, as per the animation on TV at the time. The backgrounds are often two colors and simple shapes; the characters move a bit stiffly. They do have some funny expressions on occasion, especially the Wizard and Witch. The odd teardrop-shaped Munchkins look more like the "Mr. and Mrs." characters from the little books that teach manners than the Munchkins in the books or any other adaptation. 

The Song and Dance: In a way, this one is more important for the history than for the content. This is the first hour-long show made by Rankin-Bass, who would specialize in them from the mid-60's through the early 80's. At the least, it does have some interesting touches. Dorothy wears the silver slippers from the books (the ruby ones may be trademarked), and there's the occasional unique character or design like the flying alligators. We also get to see at least one sequence from the book that didn't make it into the 1939 movie, when the scarecrow has them remove his hay to hide from an enemy. And I have to admit, I like how Dorothy's friends are insinuated to have really earned what they wanted, instead of being given the objects representing them as in the film and book. 

Favorite Number: The special opens and closes with Dorothy claiming how "I Wanna Go Back" to Oz, and then home to Kansas. "In the Wonderful Oz" is performed by a chorus over the beginning and end credits as they describe all the delights we're about to see. Dorothy sings about how the little people are "Munchkins, Naturally" when she arrives. The Tin Man laments how "I'm Heartless" when Dorothy runs across him. The Scarecrow tumbles and falls as he complains that "You Can't Build a Brain." They make fun of "Dandy the Lion" when he's obviously cowardly again. 

The Wizard and Witch claim that "I am Better Than You" after she's captured him. When the Scarecrow claims no one has magic anymore, Dorothy counters with the ballad "Wonderful Magical Ways" that there's magic everywhere. 

What I Don't Like: Can we say "rehash?" This is basically just a repeat of the original book with aspects of the 1939 film mashed in for good measure and the Witch outright attacking the Wizard. Apparently, the TV show this is based on had more unique stories. I have no idea why the Scarecrow and Tin Man are so nasty to the lion. In the book, they tease him about his cowardice on occasion, but here, they're downright mean. Dorothy does call them on it, but there's really no reason for it. It's also insinuated that the Wizard has real magic here, instead of being just a huckster. The animation is stiff and limited, the songs dull and unmemorable. (Bass would write better music himself for later specials with Rankin and Murray Laws.)

The Big Finale: This makes Filmation's 1972 attempt at an Oz sequel, Journey Back to Oz, look like a masterpiece by comparison. Only recommended for the most ardent Oz and Rankin-Bass fans. 

Home Media: DVD is in print, but fairly expensive. You might be better streaming this one. 

DVD

YouTube

Easter Short Subject Special - The First Easter Rabbit & The Bernstain Bears' Easter Surprise

Happy Easter! We celebrate the secular side of the holiday with these two lesser-known holiday tales. Most Easter shows of the 70's and 80's aren't nearly as well-known or often seen as their cold-weather counterparts. Do these two deserve a second look, or should they be snowed under? We're going to start at Christmas, as a little girl receives a very important gift, and find out...

The First Easter Rabbit

Rankin-Bass/NBC, 1976

Voices of Burl Ives, Robert Morse, Dina Lyn, and Joan Gardner

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music and Lyrics by various

The Story: Veteran Easter bunny G.B (Ives) tells the story of Stuffy (Morse), the beloved Christmas present of little Glinda (Lyn). After Glinda comes down with scarlet fever, her mother (Gardner) burns most of her toys to eliminate the germs. Stuffy is spared by Calliope the Fairy (Gardner), who anoints the now-real rabbit the Easter Bunny, symbol of spring for all children. Three slick con-bunnies help him find April Valley, the magical land at the North Pole where it's spring all year-round. His neighbor Santa Claus (Paul Frees) suggests Stuffy bring Easter joy to one town as a "test" subject. Stuffy knows which town he wants to deliver Easter to. He misses Glinda. He may not get to spread it beyond the borders of the Valley if winter sorcerer Zero (Frees) finds the Golden Easter Lily, the flower that keeps the Valley warm!

The Animation: This is the only Rankin-Bass Easter special done in regular 2-D animation. The designs absolutely show Paul Coker Jr's hand. Most of the characters have large round heads with brilliant round scarlet cheeks, wide smiles, and big oval eyes. The backdrops are especially lush here. For the little time they spend in it, April Valley is gorgeous enough to make you understand why Zero wants it.

The Song and Dance: Not bad Easter retelling of The Velveteen Rabbit. I like why Stuffy is chosen to be the Easter Bunny. They boil it down to the essentials - he's a symbol of springtime, and nothing else. They don't get as complicated with his origin as some of Santa's origin stories tend to, and it's refreshing. Frees is a rather adorable Santa, and Gardner is a lovely, warm mother who genuinely seems to care for her ill child. 

Favorite Number: "There's That Rabbit" is heard three times, notably sung by Ives during a colorful montage depicting how Stuffy paints his eggs and links him and Easter to the children. Stuffy's delighted to meet a now-well Glinda at the "Easter Parade" in her town, joined by con-bunnies Flops (Stan Freberg), Spats (Frees), and Whiskers (Don Messick). They have a grand time doing everything depicted in the song, including ending up in the rotogravure. 

What I Don't Like: This should have been an hour, like the other two Rankin-Bass Easter shows. It feels really rushed. Santa and G.B are the only ones with much to do. Zero doesn't do anything but complain and demand until the second half, and even then, he sends his snowball Bruce (Messick) to find the Golden Lilly. We never see him actually take the Lilly, either. In fact, we don't learn much about the Valley or its residents, or why it's so important beyond it being warm all the time. Zero and Stuffy never even meet until the last five seconds. Stuffy's not the one who deals with Zero, either. Santa does that.

And speaking of, did we really need Santa? He seems to mainly be there so Rankin-Bass can shoehorn more holidays into their specials again. He does a lot of things Stuffy should have done, like deal with Zero and figure out about bringing Easter eggs to one town. There's a lot of plot lines that are set up but never explored, like the con-bunnies wanting to steal those carrots and how Zero managed to get the Golden Lilly from April Valley.

The Big Finale: Ironically, this was one of my family's favorite holiday specials during the 80's and early 90's. We had it on the end of a tape with kids' movies and cartoons and watched it even when it wasn't Easter. For all the problems, it's still decent Easter viewing for young kids who need something to do before the egg hunt begins. 

Home Media: Currently DVD only, and the DVD is out of print. You're better off looking for this used.

DVD

The Bernstain Bears' Easter Surprise

NBC, 1981

Voices of Ron McLarty, Pat Lysinger, Knowl Johnson, and Bob McFadden

Directed by Mordecai Gerstein and Al Kouzel

Music by Elliot Lawrence; Lyrics by Stan Bernstain 

The Story: We jump back to when Brother Bear (Johnson) was Mama and Papa's only cub. He's lonely and curious about the world around him, constantly asking his bumbling father questions he can't answer. His friends are all animals who live by the bog and hibernate during the winter, except ever-hopping Bill Bunny (Zachary Danzinger). Brother's eager for winter to be over, especially after Mama (Lysinger), whose lap seems to be growing rather large, tells him about his big Easter surprise. 

Winter, however, seems to be going on for longer than usual. Turns out Boss Bunny (McFadden), the head Easter Bunny, quit and won't come out of his hole or start production on Easter. Papa's (McLarty) is horrified, but his attempt at being the Easter Bunny don't go well. It's up to Brother and Bill to figure out why Boss Bunny quit, and remind him that Easter and spring are the seasons for miracles, including the miracle of birth.

The Animation: Same deal as the Valentine's special. This is nothing flashy, but the characters move well enough, the backgrounds are reasonably detailed, and the characters do resemble their book counterparts at the time. That's probably all this franchise really needs.

The Song and Dance: Adorable story manages to work in the themes of rebirth and miracles without getting too religious, and do it in a charming and sweet way. Papa's "Do It Yourself" song and his brief fling as the Easter Bunny may be his funniest moment from any of the specials. I love how he manages to rig up the conveyor belt in the chicken coop, and his and Brother's "hop hop hops." Check out Mama's hilarious expressions in the background during the number, too. Mama has a lovely moment too when she tells Brother about how spring is a time for miracles...including the arrival of new babies...

Favorite Number: Brother pesters Papa with "I Have Many Questions," as he asks his father about the world around them and how it works. Papa, of course, doesn't really have an answer for any of them. Mama reminds Brother to "Care About Spring," as she explains to him what Easter's really all about. Disappointed after Boss Bunny quits, Papa claims he'll just "Do It Himself" and rig up his own Easter factory. Brother's excited at first, but it ends in a messy disaster. Brother and Boss Bunny reprise "Care About Spring" as Boss relates just why he's given up on spring, and Brother tells him all the reasons he should let it go on. The chorus picks this up when Boss (literally) sees the light; their version turns up again over the end credits.

What I Don't Like: Boss Bunny...kind of has a point. From all his bellyaching, it sounds like he's old, tired, and has been running Spring and Easter on his own for many years without a break. Hopefully, he was able to hire more reliable help after he got the factory going again. 

The Big Finale: Other than it's missing Sister, this is by far my favorite Berenstain Bears holiday special. If you have children who are fans of the series, especially the older books sans Sister, or remember when this used to turn up on cable in the 80's, it's highly recommended Easter viewing.

Home Media: DVD only, along with spring-themed episodes of the original 1985 Berenstain Bears TV show. 

DVD - The Berenstain Bears: Springtime Surprises

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Last Unicorn

Jensen Farley Pictures/Rankin-Bass, 1982

Voices of Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Alan Arkin, and Tammy Grimes

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music and Lyrics by Jimmy Webb

Tales of high fantasy, of swords and mages and knights and barbarians, became big business in the late 70's and early 80's. In the wake of the overwhelming success of Star Wars and the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, sword & sorcery novels that were previously considered the realm of sci-fi geeks were now enjoyed by people who had never even read the Lord of the Rings series. Rankin-Bass, who had done film versions of Return of the King and The Hobbit, now turned their attention to a later fantasy novel. The book of the same name debuted in 1968 and was shopped around to several studios, Rankin-Bass was the last they talked to and finally signed on. How does this darkly romantic tale of unicorns and magicians and red bulls look today? Let's start with the unicorn of the title (Farrow) and a singing Butterfly (Robert Klein) who sends her on her way and find out...

The Story: After much cajoling, the unicorn finally goes out into the world to figure out what happened to others like her. She first encounters Schmedrick (Arkin), an incompetent magician, at the sideshow of old witch Mommy Fortuna (Angela Landsbury). He rescues her from Mommy's cage, and later from bandits. The head bandit's frustrated lover Molly Grue (Grimes) agrees to join them as well. 

They do find the legendary red bulls who drove the unicorns to the sea, but it's attracted to the Last Unicorn. Schmedrick turns her into a human to hide her from the bull. He names her the Lady Amalthea when they're found by Prince Lir (Jeff Bridges) and his father King Haggard (Christopher Lee). It was Haggard who ordered the unicorns driven to the sea for his amusement. Schmedrick and Molly look for clues that will lead them to the bull and how to fight it...but meanwhile, Amalthea is falling for Lir, and becoming more and more human and less like a unicorn...

The Animation: While not on the line with even what Disney was doing at this point, it's still some of the best work to come from Rankin-Bass. Most of it was animated by Toei Animation in Japan. Not only had many of these people animated some of the most popular animated shows in Japan, but some would go on to form Studio Ghilbi, creators and animators of some of the most beloved anime ever. The wide eyes and flowing lines of Rankin-Bass are here augmented by some still-impressive special effects, including the red bull and the unicorns in the sea.

The Song and Dance: Dark and dreamy, this has been a favorite of me and my sisters since we were very little. Farrow is perfect as the wide-eyed mythical creature who is delicate enough to make a willowy human, yet tough enough to take on a long journey cross-country. Arkin and Grimes also do very well as the magician who discovers he's better at this whole magic thing than he thought and the cook who wishes she could have seen the unicorn in her younger, more innocent years. Lee's King Haggard is appropriately frightening, and the red bull is the stuff of nightmares when we finally do see it. 

Favorite Number: The dreamy title song has become a bit of a standard over the years; here, it's heard in the opening and closing credits, performed by country band America. They also perform "Man's Road" twice, as the Unicorn as traveling alone early in the film, and later when she's close to her goal with Molly and Schmedrick. "In the Sea (Where Do Unicorns Go?)" has them questioning what happened to those unicorns as the now-human Amalthea tries to remember her goals...but only knows she's in love with Lir. Bridges and Farrow duet late in the film as Lir tries to tell Amalthea how much he loves her, and "That's All I've Got to Say."

What I Don't Like: First of all, despite the G rating, this is a very dark movie. There's some violence with the red bull, especially in the end when Lir nearly dies, and quite a bit of cursing that's retained on most prints currently available. Mommy Fortuna and her sideshow and Captain Cully and his men have grotesque designs that are the stuff of nightmares, and there's Mommy's gruesome fate. Farrow does well in the book sequences, but she can't sing, making her solo "Now That I'm a Woman" flat and a bit painful. Bridges can't sing, either, and it does no favors to the otherwise-decent "All I've Got to Say." Some of the dialogue gets pretty stiff too, once again mostly towards the end in the castle. 

The Big Finale: If you have young fantasy lovers who are up to some of the rougher moments and characters, they'll find a lot to love in this unique romantic fable. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, often for under $10. Look for the remastered "Enchanted Edition"; earlier video and DVD releases cut some of the nastier language. Many online streaming companies have it for free, including Tubi. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Daydreamer

Rankin-Bass (Videocraft International)/Embassy Pictures, 1966

Voices of Paul O'Keefe, Jack Gilfrord, Margaret Hamilton, and Hayley Mills

Directed by Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

Videocraft - what would later be known as Rankin-Bass - just had their first major success with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer two years before. It and their other TV projects proved to be so wildly popular, they had the confidence to put out feature-length films made for children's matinees. This one was their second; for many Americans, it was their first time seeing the sometimes charming, sometimes tragic stories of Hans Christian Andersen depicted on the big screen. How does this unique live action-animated hybrid look now? Let's start with young Chris (O'Keefe) as his shoemaker father (Gilford) admonishes him to pay more attention to his lessons and find out...

The Story: Chris is bored with his father's constantly telling him to study and not daydream so much. He doesn't understand why Papa Andersen won't sell his wife's ring and use the money to make life easier for them. After having heard the Sandman (Cyril Ritchard) talk about the Garden of Paradise and the Tree of Knowledge, he runs away to find them. On the way, he dreams of many different characters, mermaids and emperors and tiny girls no bigger than your thumb, who lead him on fantastic adventures, but he abandons all of them to find that Garden. Meanwhile, his father has figured out what he's doing and has gone to find him, too. 

The Animation: Chris daydreams  himself into some really nifty stop-motion animation for the time. It looks more like Rudolph, with longer eyes and slightly smaller heads than a decade later. The water effects on "The Little Mermaid" are a bit awkward, just the screen getting wavy, but there are some truly unique designs for the Sea Witch and her creatures. There's also that truly frightening frog in the "Thumbelina" sequence - no wonder the characters are terrified of it! The damn thing is huge and ugly to the point of being nightmare fuel. 

The Song and Dance: Nifty animation and a nice cast liven up these tales. My favorite segment is "Thumbelina." Patty Duke makes a more spirited title character than is often seen in versions of her story, and we get villain specialists Boris Karloff as the nasty Rat and Sessue Hayakawa as the supercilious mole. While "Mermaid" doesn't retain the dark ending, it's otherwise a fairly decent adaptation, with Mills making a lovely princess of the sea and Bankhead obviously enjoying her role as the ocean-bound enchantress. There's also what the Garden of Paradise turns out to be in the end, and how Chris ends up losing his place there...

Favorite Number: The lovely title ballad plays over the opening and closing credits, the former performed by Robert Goulet. The Little Mermaid sings a heartbreaking song of longing, knowing that "Wishes and Teardrops" won't bring Chris back to her. The vain Emperor (Ed Wynn) crows about how he's "Simply Wonderful," and his usual clothes simply aren't. Chris calls out to the townspeople, asking if they have any "Luck to Sell" when he's caught and accused of stealing animals. The mole asks Thumbelina "Isn't It Cozy?" when they're down in his hole, but with bats singing along and the muddy, damp walls around them, it's really anything but.

What I Don't Like: First of all, let's discuss the Mole. He's designed to be something of an Asian stereotype, with his prominent buck teeth and squinty eyes. Even voiced by an actual Japanese actor who ended up playing several similar roles late in his career, he may still offend some people today.

As cool as the stories themselves are, they're thrown together with no real rhyme or reason. O'Keefe comes off as alternately dull and a spoiled brat who treats everyone around him badly. No wonder he falls to temptation in the Garden of Paradise so easily. Gilford's search for him is supposed to be dramatic, but then they have gags like the sped-up sequence on the water that come off as pure slapstick. And "The Little Mermaid" in particular is changed from its original - she doesn't lose her voice or become foam on the waves or even lose her tail. The frog in "Thumbelina" originally wanted to marry her, not eat her. 

The Big Finale: Not a bad way to pass an hour and a half if you're a Rankin-Bass fan or are a fairy tale fan or have kids who would enjoy the stories and songs. 

Home Media: Rereleased on DVD and Blu-Ray last year from Kino Lorber.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Animation Celebration Saturday - The King and I (1999)

Warner Bros/Rankin-Bass, 1999

Voices of Miranda Richardson, Martin Vidnovic, Ian Richardson, and Allen D. Hong

Directed by Richard Rich

Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Warner Bros has never had much luck with their animated features. They distributed three independent animated films from 1990 to 1994, all of which underperformed at the box office. Their breakthrough came with Space Jam in 1996, which wound up being one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. Neither the medieval fantasy Quest for Camelot nor the musical Cats Don't Dance from the newly-acquired Turner Animation, both released a year later, came close. 

They tried again with another independent company, Morgan Creek Pictures. Producer Arthur J. Rankin Jr. convinced the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization that animated family-friendly versions of their shows would expand their audiences, and even got Richard Rich, whose Swan Princess failed at the box office but did well on video, to direct. How did the first animated Rodgers and Hammerstein musical turn out? Let's begin at sea, as Anna Leonowens (Miranda Richardson) and her son Louis (Adam Wylie) travel to Siam (present-day Thailand) in 1862 and find out...

The Story: Anna's ship is battered in a fierce storm that nearly washes Louis overboard. They're attacked by a sea serpent, but manage to escape thanks to Captain Orton (Ken Baker). The serpent was sent by the Kralahome (Ian Richardson), who intends to use his magic to overthrow King Mongut (Vidinovic) and make himself king. Anna nearly leaves when she sees the king accept a gift of a slave girl from Burma named Tuptim (Armi Arabe) and realizes he hasn't built the house he promised. She finally decides to stay when she meets the king's adorable children, especially his teen son Chulalongkorn (Hong). 

Kralahome is still determined to get rid of her and get the kingdom, and he sends his lackey Master Little (Darrell Hammond) to eliminate her son and the other kids. The arrival of the British, however, may do more damage than the Kralahome ever could when Sir Edward Ramsay (Sean Smith) arrives to see how "civilized" the King is.

The Animation: Full of the rich colors of Siam, with glowing golds, greens, and reds creating a splendid backdrop for Anna and Mongut's adventures. The rest of the animation was farmed out to companies in 24 countries...and looks it. The lighting is terrible, the characters that are supposed to look Thai don't (except for Master Little, who falls a little too far into stereotypes territory), and there's scenes where characters barely move at all. On the other hand, they actually manage to nicely integrate the CGI and 2D animated effects, something you don't always see even in Disney movies during this era. 

The Song and Dance: For all the problems, Richardson and Vidnovic put in surprisingly convincing performances as Anna and the King, and Hong isn't bad as the young prince torn between his duty to his father, what he's learned from Anna, and his feelings for Tuptim. We even get a song for Anna, "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?," that was cut from the 1956 live-action film. When the songs are blended well with the concepts, as with the elegant "Shall We Dance?," the movie almost works. I also like that, for all they whitewashed, they did keep the sequence with the King threatening to whip Tuptim and even make it fairly suspenseful. 

Favorite Number: "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" makes its screen debut as Anna rages and trips and kicks over the King telling her he won't build the promised house. For his part, the King wonders what all the fuss is about. It's "A Puzzlement" to him. Anna and the kids are "Getting to Know You" as they explore the markets and streets of Bangkok. Master Little's not far behind, but he's not terribly good at trying to catch her and the children. Tuptim and Chulalongkorn get a fairly romantic "I Have Dreamed/We Kiss In a Shadow" when she points out that their romance is forbidden. "Shall We Dance?" is just lovely, both when Anna and the King dance along to it in a fantasy world, and in the finale, when it's finally just the two of them and the music.

What I Don't Like: You can tell this was adapted by the same team that mangled Quest for Camelot. Why on Earth did Rankin Jr. think this particular Rodgers and Hammerstein property would make a great 90's animated fantasy musical? The Kralahome wasn't a pleasant person in the original show, but he wasn't Scar or Jafar, either. There's enough comic relief animals to fill the Bangkok Zoo, none of which add anything to the film but a few gags. Combining the eldest Prince with the slave who falls for Tuptim just makes that side-story even more cliched than it can come off in the actual show. Master Little is also unnecessary comic relief, and badly stereotyped comic relief at that. 

This also has the same problem as Camelot with inappropriate musical numbers, or numbers where the song doesn't really match the visuals. Why is "I Whistle a Happy Tune" done during that huge storm with the dragon? It sounds and looks utterly ridiculous. The otherwise well-sung and thought out "Getting to Know You" is mangled by Master Little and his ill-timed slapstick that's more suited for a Looney Tunes short than a major animated musical. And giving the story a happy ending doesn't make it any less dated or show the culture and history of Thailand in a better light. 

The Big Finale: I'm afraid even some good performances and songs can't save this one. No wonder the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization banned any further animated retellings of their shows. Only for the most ardent fans of theirs or for families with indiscriminate younger children who may enjoy the animal antics and songs. 

Home Media: Easy to find on all formats; it's currently free on Amazon Prime with a subscription.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Double Feature - The First Christmas & Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

The Little Drummer Boy is probably the most popular Rankin-Bass special based around the birth of Christ, but it's not the only one they made. We dive into the vaults for two of the company's less well-known stop-motion shorts, one an original story, the other based after country holiday song. How do these simple tales of faith and hope look today? Let's begin at a seaside abbey with a group of nuns painting Christmas scenes and find out...

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow

Rankin-Bass/NBC, 1975

Voices of Angela Landsbury, Cyril Ritchard, David Kelley, and Dina Lynn

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws and others; Lyrics by Jules Bass and others

The Story: Sister Teresa (Landsbury) and the nuns at an abbey by the sea find a young shepherd struck by lightning during a storm. They take him in and give him shelter with his sheep in the stable. Poor Lucas (Kelley) was struck blind by shock and has no place to go. Sister Teresa wants him to stay, but fussy Father Thomas (Ritchard) worries that he might be better off in an orphanage. Meanwhile, Teresa explains snow to Lucas, who's never seen it, and lets him join the angel choir in the school pageant. Three boys tease him when they make the sheep run away, but regret it after Lucas and the sheep get lost.

The Animation: Paul Coker Jr. was designing the specials by this point, and it shows in the round heads and large, expressive eyes and mouths on the characters. Everyone, from the kids to the nuns to the dog, has wide saucer eyes that crinkle upwards when they're happy or become triangular when angry. There's a slightly more realistic vibe on this one, especially the nuns; the abbey and stable backdrops are appropriately cozy and intimate.

The Song and Dance: Landsbury and Ritchard are the thing in this unusual tale, one of the most unique to come from Rankin-Bass. She's warm and thoughtful, he's fussy and fun. I also appreciate that this may be the only Rankin-Bass special with no real villain. Father Thomas and the three bullies are set up to be, but the priest is just worried that the abbey lacks the resources to take care of Lucas and his wooly charges properly, and the kids immediately realize what they did was wrong and help find the sheep. 

Favorite Number: Sister Teresa describes a real white Christmas to Lucas as she recalls a song her father taught her, "Christmas Snow Is Magic," while Lucas wonders what a real "White Christmas" would feel like. Father Thomas admonishes the kids and nuns to "Save a Little Christmas" for later in the season when they try to put up the tree too early.

What I Don't Like: As much as I like Landsbury, she does seem a bit miscast as a nun. This isn't one of their more exciting or campy specials. The story is pure melodrama, with the lightning strike and the blinded orphan, and a bit of a muddle. The entire sequence with the bad kids and the missing sheep seems more like padding added to fill out the middle.

The Big Finale: Not one of their major specials, but it's charming enough if you love Landsbury or are looking for something short and sweet to show kids around Christmas. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD; turns up often on AMC during the holiday season. 

DVD

DVD - 4 Kid Favorites: Merry Masterpieces

Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey

Rankin-Bass/ABC, 1977

Voices of Roger Miller, Shelly Hines, Brenda Vaccaro, and Paul Frees

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws and others; Lyrics by Jules Bass and others

The Story: Spieltoe (Miller), the donkey who works with Santa at the North Pole, tells the story of his ancestor Nestor (Hines). Nestor had very long ears that made him the laughingstock of the stable in Scandinavia where he lived with his mother (Linda Gary) and the bane of the owner Olaf (Frees). Roman soldiers came to take the young donkeys for their troops. They throw back Nestor when they see his ears, accusing Olaf of tricking him. Olaf angrily throws Nestor out in the snow. His mother follows him and sacrifices herself shielding him from the storm. 

Nestor's devastated by the loss of his mother until he meets Tilly (Vaccaro), a cherub. She tells him his ears will let him do wonderous things and he'll save another, as his mother once saved him. They end up on the outskirts of Bethehem, when Nestor winds up in another stable. He's about to give up when a certain Mary (Taryn Davies) and Joseph (Harry Maurice Rosner) love his "gentle eyes" and buy him to take Mary to Bethlehem.

The Animation: Same deal here, with almost the same animators. The designs are slightly cartoonier and more exaggerated, as befitting a story featuring a cherub and a little donkey with excessively long ears. The sandstorm sequence with the cherubs towards the end is especially well-done.

The Song and Dance: This is such a sweet story. Simpler and a bit rougher than the similar Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, it may be even more charming. Vaccaro is especially funny as the endearing and eager Tilly, who shows Nestor the first respect he's seen in his life outside of his mother. 

Favorite Number: Country star Roger Whittaker starts us off with the title number, as he tells us why the elves' version of the donkey in the manger is inaccurate. He also admonishes the animals of the frozen north "Don't Laugh and Make Somebody Cry" as Tilly and Nestor travel to Bethlehem. Only Nestor's ears can "Follow the Song of the Angels" and hear a cherub choir in a sandstorm.

What I Don't Like: Like the song it's based on, it's obvious this is a religious version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It even begins and ends with Santa. Nestor himself is a bit of nonentity besides his ears and doesn't actually do much until that sandstorm. In fact, Tilly's so much fun, I really wish she was in more of the special. She's barely there for five minutes and the one number. Miller doesn't really have much to do besides narrate, either.

The Big Finale: Adorable but derivative; once again, best for major Rankin-Bass fans, fans of Miller, or those looking for religious holiday programming for kids. 

Home Media: Your best bet on DVD is the big Classic Christmas Favorites set that includes everything from the Grinch to The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold; it turns up frequently on AMC as well. 

DVD - The Year Without a Santa Claus

DVD - Classic Christmas Favorites

Christmas Eve Double Feature - The Little Drummer Boy & The Little Drummer Boy Book II

We celebrate Christmas Eve with a pair of Rankin-Bass specials on the real meaning of the holiday. The Little Drummer Boy was the first Rankin-Bass special to deal with the more religious side of the holiday and the first to feature a female narrator (Greer Garson). It wound up being one of their bigger hits, enough to warrant a sequel in 1976. How do the stories of the title drummer boy and his encounters with the Baby Jesus and the Three Wise Men look today? Let's start in the desert with Aaron (Teddy Eccles) as he leads his menagerie in a dance and find out...

The Little Drummer Boy 

Rankin-Bass, 1968

Starring Teddy Eccles, Jose Ferrer, Greer Garson, and Paul Frees

Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

The Story: Aaron was the son of a shepherd and his wife, who lived on a farm with their livestock. They gave Aaron a drum for his birthday. When he played the drum, he could make the animals dance. After his parents and all but a camel, a donkey, and a lamb are killed by bandits, Aaron vows to hate humankind for what they did to his family. He and his three remaining animals are kidnapped by a rather bad desert show caravan. The owner of the caravan Ben Haramid (Ferrer) thinks Aaron and his dancing friends will be perfect for the performance they plan to put on in Bethlehem for the tax payers.

Aaron does finally perform, but he becomes angry with the crowd for laughing at them and tells them off. The show caravan flees the city, running into three kings bearing expensive gifts following a star. They sell the trio Aaron's camel. Aaron follows them into the city, where his lamb is hurt...and only a miracle from a certain baby born in a manger can save his life.

The Animation: As per the era, this one gets closer to Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, but far less cartoony. Indeed, these figures may be among the most expressive Rankin-Bass ever did, especially little Aaron and wily Ben Haramid. 

The Song and Dance: This musical drama is one of the more interesting Rankin-Bass specials. Greer Garson's sonorous narration adds the right touch of gravity to the proceedings, while Ferrer and Frees have some nice comic relief moments as the members of the rather inept performing caravan. Aaron's change of heart at the end in the title song and moving and beautifully done.

Favorite Number: Ben Haramid sings of why he has to work when "The Goose Is Hanging High." "Why Can't the Animals Smile?" is Aaron's bitter number when he's forced to perform with the desert troupe in Bethlehem. The Vienna Boys Choir provides the backdrop for the moment when Aaron finally plays his drum for the Baby Jesus...and realizes that the hatred in his heart was wrong. 

What I Don't Like: Aaron's kidnapping and the deaths of his parents make this a little bit darker than the average Rankin-Bass special. Ben Haramid and the members of his troupe can come off as Arab stereotypes for some people. 

The Big Finale: One of the absolute best Rankin-Bass specials. If you want to introduce older elementary school-age kids to the story of the birth of Christ, this might not be a bad way to do it. Highly recommended.

Home Media: Out of print on individual DVD, but it can be found on streaming and Blu-Ray, along with several collections of the popular 60's-early 70's Rankin Bass specials.

DVD - The Original Christmas Classics

Blu-Ray

Peacock (Subscription) 

The Little Drummer Boy Book II

Rankin-Bass, 1976

Starring David Jay, Zero Mostel, Greer Garson, and Bob McFadden

Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

The Story: After he leaves the Baby Jesus, Aaron (Jay) volunteers to help King Melichor (Ray Owens) bring the beautiful silver bells created by the bell maker Simeon (Allen Swift) to be rung and announce the birth of Christ. The Roman general Brutus (Mostel) and his sniveling toady Plato (McFadden) get there first, taking the bells for taxes. Aaron tells Melichor he'll go after the bells with his animals. He and the others do manage to rescue them and make fools of the soldiers, but the price of his courage is high for him...

The Animation: This is another one that shows Paul Coker Jr's influence, with larger heads and eyes. As in the first, the villains tend to be a bit goofier and more cartoonishly designed than Aaron or the king and bellmaker. 

The Song and Dance: I'm not sure this one really needed a sequel...but that said, this isn't bad. Garson still makes an excellent narrator, and Swift is a wonderful gentle bell-maker. Mostel is the stand-out, throwing himself into the role of the obnoxious Roman officer with gusto. He has some of the most fun of any Rankin-Bass villain, especially in his one number. 

Favorite Number: Mostel, McFadden, and the soldiers have a great time with the chorus number "Money, Money, Money," describing how people went from trading to buying with cash. Aaron sings a reprise in an attempt to distract the soldiers, but they're not having any of it. The Viennese Boys Choir gets to do a lovely "Do You Hear What I Hear?" after Simeon finally rings those bells.

What I Don't Like: As I mentioned, this sequel wasn't really necessary. I suspect it exists mainly because Rankin-Bass loved their franchises and wanted to turn Drummer Boy into one more. The story lacks the simplicity and gravity that made the first one so powerful.

The Big Finale: Nothing you need to go out of your way to see, but it's still an enjoyable enough way to pass a half-hour if you can find it. 

Home Media: Currently available as part of two collections of Warner Brothers-owned holiday specials, including several other lesser-known Rankin-Bass titles.

DVD - Rankin/Bass TV Holiday Favorites

DVD - Classic Christmas Favorites

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Stingiest Man In Town (1978)

NBC/Rankin-Bass, 1978

Voices of Walter Matthau, Dennis Day, Tom Bosley, and Robert Morse

Directed by Katshuhisa Yamada, Arthur Rankin Jr., and Jules Bass

Music by Fred Spielman; Lyrics by Janice Torre

Given Rankin-Bass did animated specials for pretty much every other holiday-related property in the 60's and 70's, it was probably inevitable that they'd get to A Christmas Carol sooner or later. The soundtrack for The Stingiest Man In Town remained popular, but the live broadcast was long-gone by 1978. NBC commissioned this special in order to preserve their copywrite on the music. How does it compare to the live-action version I reviewed on Thursday? Let's start at Scrooge's counting house this time and find out...

The Story: B.A.H Humbug (Bosley), an insect who lives in Scrooge's (Matthau) counting house, narrates the story of how he met three ghosts on one cold Christmas Eve. Scrooge was once the most miserable man in London. He cheated his clerk Bob Cratchit (Sonny Melendrez) out of holiday bonus money and refused to spend one cent for the poor. Scrooge learns his lesson from the ghost of his former boss Marley (Theodore Bikel) and the ghosts of past, present, and future, who show him what his life holds if he doesn't change his ways.

The Animation: Like 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, the character designs here were done by Paul Coker Jr., who did illustrations for MAD Magazines for years. While slightly less cartoon-y than the shorter special, it still shows Coker's hand, with large heads and huge, rounded eyes. The colorful backgrounds here, especially during the "Golden Dreams" fantasy number, are also quite nice.

The Song and Dance: Some of the Rankin-Bass specials made after about 1975 can get pretty bizarre, but this is one of the better ones. Already-strong material makes all the difference here. They keep the entire original score (save a few reprises), and even manage to do better by a few of them. Day makes a jolly Nephew Fred, Morse and Shelby Flint are an appealing pair of lovers in the past sequence, Bikel brings gravity to an especially spooky Marley, and Melendrez is a charming Bob Cratchit.

Favorite Number: Bosley joins the stray animals of London to complain about Scrooge's lack of charity as he bilks everyone around him in the title song. Day joins Matthew to bark about how Christmas is a "Humbug" and explain why "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" is worth enjoying. Young Scrooge's "Golden Dreams" has him and Belle waltzing in a fantasy palace, but she prefers the simple comforts and family of "It Might Have Been." "The Christmas Spirit" is still performed by toys under the Ghost of Christmas Present's tree, but this time Humbug and a shrunken Scrooge get to dance along. Scrooge also joins The Ghost of Christmas Present to learn why "One Little Boy" can mean the world to his family and friends. 

Trivia: Charles Matthau, who did the voice of Tiny Tim, is Walter Matthau's son (adding an extra layer of poignancy to "One Little Boy").

This was Dennis Day's last TV appearance.

What I Don't Like: Much of the original story was compressed for time and a younger audience, even from the live-action version. Of the three ballets, only the "Christmas Spirit" toy ballet was even remotely carried over. The Future segment is barely hinted at; we only see a few minutes of the Ghost leading Scrooge to his tomb before he converts. Those who preferred the Four Lads in the original may find Bosley's "Humbug" to be too cutesy and maybe seen a little too much. Day's Nephew Fred might have been used a bit more. The segment with Scrooge's sister Fan is cut, and "The Birthday Party of the King" is now sung by Bosley.

The Big Finale: This is one of the rare times I'm equally happy with the original and its remake. I admit to be a bit biased as I recall occasionally seeing this one on cable as a child. Whether you go for live-action and animation, they're both worth checking out for fans of Christmas Carol, Rankin-Bass, or the casts. 

Home Media: Currently only on DVD as part of two collections of Warner Bros-owned Christmas specials; the second includes How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Year Without a Santa Claus.

DVD - Rankin/Bass TV Holiday Favorites Collection

DVD - Classic Christmas Favorites

Animation Celebration Saturday - Cricket On the Hearth

Rankin-Bass, 1967

Voices of Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas, Ed Ames, and Roddy McDowell

Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

We kick off this year's holiday reviews with the first Rankin-Bass 2-D animated special. This debuted as an episode of The Danny Thomas Show in 1967. It promptly disappeared for 30 years until it turned up on video in 1998 and then on The Family Channel as part of their "25 Days of Christmas" marathon. Is it really a "lost Dickens treasure" like the blub on the video claimed, or should it be dumped at sea? Let's start with Danny Thomas introducing the cartoon on his show and find out...

The Story: Cricket Crockett (McDowell) first encounters Caleb Plummer (Danny Thomas) while looking for a hearth to adopt. Plummer and his daughter Bertha (Marlo Thomas) are toy makers with a lovely shop of their own. Crockett moves in just as Bertha's sailor fiancée Edward (Ames) is being shipped out. She's willing to wait for him...until a government official announces he's lost at sea. She goes blind from the shock. Her father spends so much money trying to restore her sight, he loses the shop and is forced to look for work. 

Crockett finds a toy factory in need of workers...but it's run by nasty Mr. Tackleton (Hans Conried) and his crow Uriah (Paul Frees). Tackleton is a miser who who'll let the Plummers live at the factory, but refuses to pay them. Caleb's told Bertha that they're living in a beautiful home and Tackleton is a wonderful man. This backfires when Tackleton asks Bertha to marry him. Crockett tries to keep her from agreeing, but Tackleton orders Uriah to get him out of the way. And who's that gentle old man who suddenly appears in front of the shop?

The Animation: Not as whimsical as the later 2-D Rankin-Bass specials designed by Paul Coker, this one looks more like early anime. The eyes are wide and expressive, even though the characters don't really move much. What I like about this one are the brilliant colors - the psychedelic backgrounds frequently pop against the golds, browns, and corals on the characters and the green of Cricket Crockett.

The Song and Dance: Well, it's one of the more interesting Rankin-Bass specials.. Abbe Lane steals the show with her ribald saloon number, and Conried makes a great Scrooge-esque mean old miser, too. There's an occasional unusual idea or cute gag, like the animals who help Crockett head off Tackleton before Bertha gives him her answer or how Crockett gets back to land.

Favorite Number: The title song opens that opens and closes the special explains the legend of the Cricket on the Hearth and how they're said to bring good luck. Ames performs the lovely ballad "Don't Give Your Love Away" as he imagines Bertha waiting patiently for him. Lane's big number is "Fish and Chips," performed by a cat singing about her boyfriend claiming he has more money than he does in the dive bar where Uriah and the Captain meet. Caleb tells Bertha why they'll be all right if they don't have an extravagant holiday, reminding her that "The First Christmas" wasn't fancy, either.

What I Don't Like: I agree with one review that says this feels more like the bizarre specials Rankin-Bass made a decade later than the ones they put out during the 60's. The melodrama is completely ridiculous and features pretty much every dramatic cliché possible, from his dying at sea to her suddenly becoming blind to the Tackleton's conversion. Danny and Marlo Thomas may be the reason this exists, but they're not exactly believable as a British toymaker in the 1840's and his daughter, and though Ames sings beautifully, he's even more wooden. Most of the songs, especially Lane's saloon routine, have nothing whatsoever to do with the story and are there more as filler or to show off the animation. 

My biggest complaint is, despite being the narrator and title character, Crockett often feels like an afterthought in his own vehicle. He claims to be important to the family, but the special puts more focus on the Plummers' problems than the cricket they taken in. He doesn't even have a song of his own. This is also pretty dark for Rankin-Bass, especially the violent fate of Uriah Caw. It's really not for very young children.

The Big Finale: Too melodramatic for all but the most ardent Rankin-Bass fans, Dickens enthusiasts, or lovers of 60's and 70's holiday specials.

Home Media: Just re-released last year on DVD and Blu-Ray; can also be found on several collections of older Rankin-Bass holiday specials.

DVD 

DVD - The Original Christmas Specials Collection

Blu-Ray

Happy Thanksgiving! - The Mouse on the Mayflower

Rankin-Bass, 1968 

Voices of Tennessee Ernie Ford, Eddie Albert, Joanie Summers, and John Gray

Directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr and Jules Bass

Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

This would be the first Rankin-Bass special that appeared under their new name, changing from Videocraft. It's also their first and only shot at a special revolving around Thanksgiving lore, complete with pilgrims, Native Americans, and their own version of American history. How does a mouse's retelling of the events leading to the first Thanksgiving feast look today? Let's begin in London, just as Willum Mouse (Ford) is joining a small band of settlers heading for the new world on the tiny ship Mayflower, and find out...

The Story: Willum just barely makes the trip. As things turn out, he almost wishes he hadn't. Conditions on board the Mayflower are cramped and dirty. Storms batter the ship, almost forcing them to turn back. Even when the settlers arrive in the New World, they're miles from Virginia, their original destination. Undaunted, they opt to remain at Plymouth and create their own colony. This proves to be more difficult than they hoped. Harsh blizzards, rampant illness, and their own inability to grow crops devastate the settlers. Thanks to Willum and his new native mouse buddy, the local Indians teach them how to grow crops. Thankful for a bountiful harvest, they invite them for a huge feast. Meanwhile, John Alden (Gray) is too shy to speak to pretty Priscilla Mullins (Sommers) for himself and keeps using orders from Captain Miles Standish (Albert) as an excuse to talk to her, and two nasty sailors want to steal the Pilgrims' gold for themselves. 

The Animation: This would be one of the first Rankin-Bass holiday specials done in a more traditional 2-D animation. It's an interesting mix of styles. The pilgrims and travelers on the Mayflower are drawn in a fairly realistic manner, while the Indians and animals, including the two mice, are done in a more cartoony and colorful style.

The Song and Dance: As the only Rankin-Bass special I know of to be based after real-life events, this is definitely one of their more unusual shows. Ford seems to enjoy himself well enough as the inquisitive mouse, and Albert has a fine time playing the blustery captain who has the nearly impossible task of turning the peaceful Puritans into soldiers. The sequences with the storm and the blizzard are especially well-done, with some decent animation and a lot of appropriate tension in both cases.

Favorite Number: The special opens and closes with the stirring "Mayflower" performed by Ford and the chorus, singing of how the Mayflower "became a part of history." The pilgrims and Ford sing about how they badly need "A Little Elbow Room" onboard the Mayflower. Priscilla wistfully wonders what John sees "When He Looks at Me" after his most recent stammering attempt to repeat Standish' orders. 

What I Don't Like: I suspect the reason this has yet to be released on DVD has to do with the rather ridiculous native stereotypes after they reach the New World. Those annoying sailors band together with an even more obnoxious Indian and his bear. Frankly, the sailors' attempts at stealing the gold don't really have much to do with the pilgrims and the New World or Willum and are likely filler at best. The romance between John and Priscilla is only slightly more interesting. They're both stiff as boards, and despite them playing up the triangle, Standish barely seems to notice her. 

The Big Finale: Enjoyable enough time-waster for after Thanksgiving dinner if you can find it. 

Home Media: As mentioned, it's not on DVD, but video copies are fairly easy to come by, and it can be found easily on YouTube. 

VHS

YouTube

Happy Groundhog's Day! - Jack Frost

Rankin-Bass, 1979
Voices of Robert Morse, Buddy Hackett, Debra Clinger, and Paul Frees
Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.
Music by Maury Laws; Lyrics by Jules Bass

Rankin-Bass continued to churn out holiday specials in the late 70's, but as those of you who read my reviews for last month may have noticed, some of them could get more than a little odd. What better character to headline a holiday special than the mythical lad himself who is said to control winter weather? They also had the habit of tying other holidays into their specials, referencing Groundhog's Day here along with Christmas and winter in general. How does this hodgepodge look nowadays? Let's head to the unfortunate town of January Junction, just as winter is about to begin, and find out...

The Story: Weather-forecasting groundhog Pardon-Me-Pete (Hackett) narrates the tale of how he and Jack Frost (Morse) came to make a deal to let him sleep for six weeks longer. Jack is an invisible sprite who creates snow and ice. He's happy with his lot, until he encounters the lovely Elisa (Clinger), the daughter of poor farmers in January Junction. After he rescues her from going over the falls, she calls him a hero. He falls hard for her and begs Father Winter (Frees) to make him human. Father Winter agrees to it for one season, sending fellow sprites Snip (Don Messick) and Holly (Dina Lynn) with him.

Elisa, however, ends up falling in love with the handsome knight Sir Ravenal (Sonny Melendrez). She has another suitor in Kubla Kraus (Frees), the Cossack King who claims all the money and building materials in the area for himself. He takes her hostage on Christmas Day, threatening to send his army of mechanical knights to destroy the town. Jack, his friends, and Sir Ravenal go after him. Sir Ravenal is hurt; Jack and the others are captured. He finally gives up his humanity to create a snowstorm that will keep Kraus from sending his knights, but can't keep sending it if a certainly little groundhog declares that spring is here...

The Animation: The designs here are similar to Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas In July that same year, but even more fantasy-oriented, as appropriate for the setting. They actually rendered the snow quite well, especially the glistening ice. The scenes in Kraus' castle are also pretty nifty, as are those thousand K-Knights, and the ones up in the Kingdom of Winter.

The Song and Dance: There's a lot of charm to be found in this unique hybrid of The Little Mermaid and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. This is my favorite of Morse' several Rankin-Bass roles. He's sweet and adorable as Jack, especially when he first encounters Elisa after becoming human. Frees is hilarious both as the fussy Slip and bellowing Kubla Kraus, one of the better Rankin-Bass villains. Kraus somehow manages to be buffoonish and menacing at the same time, even with him toting a mechanical dummy around. And it's rare to see them try for even a bittersweet ending - this may be their only special where the character doesn't get the girl in the end.

Favorite Number: The opening credits title song is a catchy little tune that shows us Jack at work and how the people on Earth revel in it. "There's the Rub" is a great villain song for Kubla Krous as he describes how he could have been a great ruler in other times and places. The Christmas sequence is set to the chorus routine "It's Just What I Always Wanted" as the residents of January Junction exclaim over the "dream presents" they pretend they have. Hackett performs a nice "Me and My Shadow" in the very beginning as we see just what he does and how important his shadow - and Jack's - will be to the story.

What I Don't Like: While this definitely comes off better than Christmas In July, which came out a few weeks before it, it's still not up to Rankin-Bass' earlier programs. Elisa is cute but is otherwise is a bit dull (though, to give her credit, I think she does figure out who Jack is in the end). Once again, Rankin-Bass tries to needlessly tie a holiday in. The good song aside, the whole Christmas/"dream present" segment seems kind of shoehorned in. In fact, though AMC has run it around Christmas for the past few years, I actually consider this to be more of a Groundhog's Day/general winter special.

The Big Finale: A hidden gem from Rankin-Bass with a catchy score, one of their more interesting villains, and a surprisingly bittersweet tone for them. Whether you watch it on Christmas or Groundhog's Day, it's worth checking out.

Home Media: Quite easy to find on DVD and on streaming.

DVD
Amazon Prime